Betrayal and Redemption
by SaphireTsukikage
Summary: Naruo fails in the Sasuke retrieval and the people of Konoha want him dead. When those closest to Naruto betray him, will they ever earn redemption? Or will Konoha's most loyal forsake their village just as their village has forsaken its savior?
1. Epic Fail

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the characters of Saphire Tsukikage and Elizabeth of the Black Crescent Moon and their respective jutsus belong to me. The fang of the moon and the fang of night also belong to me. All song lyrics used belong to their respective artist.

This story is rated M for language (a lot of it), violence, and some sexual themes (like innuendos and suggestive things).

MoonShadow Productions Presents

**Betrayal and Redemption**

A Naruto FanFiction

By: Saphire Tsukikage

Chapter 1 Epic Fail

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They had failed. Sasuke had gotten away, and he, Naruto, had almost died. He would probably be dead right now except for the Kyuubi keeping him alive. He thought Kakashi would have come after him, but the only one who seemed to care was Saphire nee-chan…

_Naruto found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The fox was mad, and Naruto could tell it wasn't entirely directed at him. Kyuubi finally noticed Naruto. "What the hell brat? Why didn't you kill that bastard? If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now! You could have easily killed him, but no, you had to let him go with a scratch on his hitai-ate! You're damn lucky my sister completed her mission early. She'll be here soon. Before you wake up though, you need to talk to the shy Hyuuga vixen when you get back." Naruto was utterly confused, "Why would I need to talk to Hinata-chan?" _

_Kyuubi growled at him "Baka, that girl has had a crush on you since she first saw you, that crush has probably turned to love by now. It's about time for you to take notice of her and stop chasing the pink-haired, bipolar, obsessive compulsive bitch." _

_The jab at Sakura didn't register in Naruto's mind. He was too busy trying to register what Kyuubi had said about Hinata. "She has a crush on me? How? Why? I mean, she always faints when she's around me, but I just figured she was sick or something. Are you sure?" Naruto though that this might be a trick of the Kyuubi's to make him feel bad. Kyuubi responded, "Yes kit, I'm sure. But if you don't believe me, just ask my sister, it's time for you to wake up."_

_Naruto had opened his eyes to find an ANBU in full uniform and fox mask kneeling above him, her hand glowing with her black, blue, and silver chakra. _

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As soon as Saphire realized Naruto was awake, she stopped the flow of chakra to her hand.

"Holy crap, you're finally awake! You've been out for nearly ten minutes, I thought I lost you!" Saphire had been somewhat panicking for the last 9 minutes, as she knew that if a person had a concussion and was unconscious for more than a couple minutes, their chance of coming back dropped drastically. What she didn't realize was that he didn't have a concussion because Kyuubi had healed that within seconds. However, she was also panicking because he had stopped breathing for the last couple of minutes (when Kyuubi told him about Hinata's crush).

"Saphire nee-chan, you need to calm down! I'm fine, you know Kyuubi will heal me." Naruto told Saphire.

"Hey, I couldn't be sure you survived that, I know you used his chakra a lot. Also, in case you didn't notice, you took a flipping chidori to the chest! I wasn't sure if aniki could heal you that fast. I swear, I'm going to murder Kakashi nii-san for teaching Sasuke that jutsu!" Saphire replied. "Anyways, we need to get back to the village, everyone else is alive, but most of them need a hospital, Neji, Kiba, Lee, and Chouji especially. Go back to sleep Naruto, Hinata will Jyuuken me to death if you're not conscious when we get back."

The mention of Hinata reminded Naruto of what the Kyuubi had told him. "Saphire nee-chan, does Hinata like me?"

Now, that question surprised Saphire, as everyone knows that Hinata has a crush on Naruto, everyone except Naruto himself.

"Did you finally figure it out, or did Kyuubi tell you? Yeah, she has had a crush on you for awhile, probably since you started at the academy."

Naruto thought back to what Hinata had told him right before he went after Sasuke, that morning.

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"_Naruto-kun, wait!" Naruto had turned around to see Hinata running up to him. When Hinata was standing in front of him, she said "Be careful, Naruto-kun." _

_Naruto replied "Don't worry Hinata, I'll bring Sasuke-teme back." He had assumed she was worried about Sasuke. _

"_Um, Naruto-kun, I don't care if you bring Sasuke back safe, as long as you come back safe. Um, Naruto-kun, I…I…lo…love…" Before she could say anything else, Kiba called to Naruto "Naruto, come on! We have to leave!" Naruto turned around to tell Hinata bye, but she was gone. _

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Naruto, for the first time ever, had an epiphany. Only, there weren't any angels singing, instead there were two demons laughing their asses off. "Holy crap she tried to tell me this morning! She was worried about _me_! Not Sasuke-teme! She didn't even care if he came back! Oh my god, I think I know what she tried to say this morning before we left, HINATA-CHAN LOVES ME!!!"

Saphire, still laughing her ass off, told Naruto to calm down. "You still need to rest so you're conscious when we get back."

Naruto, once again feeling the exhaustion from the fight, fell down into sleep, but also just a little further…

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Naruto once again found himself in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The stupid fox was still laughing too.

"Hello again kit, about time you realized the shy vixen loves you. While I'm sure your absolutely _ecstatic_ over that fact, you might want to act a little somber when you get back, no doubt the stupid villagers will be upset that they lost their _precious_ Uchiha. And, more likely than not, they will try to blame you. So, be careful, no doubt there will be more assassination attempts than usual. By the way, what are you going to tell the pink haired girl? You know she will be _upset _with you."

Naruto wasn't sure what he would say to Sakura, but he was used to flying by the seat of his pants. Besides, he needed sleep…

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Saphire sighed as she picked Naruto up. Since she had been on an ANBU mission, she was still in her uniform, ANBU mask and all. While in her uniform, she went by the name of Tsuki and disguised herself as Hatake Kakashi's sister. Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Hinata were the only genin that knew Tsuki and Saphire as the same person. The other jonins and a few chuunin knew as well, except Gai. While Rock Lee knew, he had promised not to tell his sensei because Gai couldn't keep a secret. Saphire, now disguised as Tsuki, thought that Neji might know because of the Byakugan.

'_I wouldn't be surprised if he saw me come after Naruto, I had to go right by him. The others looked like they were doing ok.' _

The Fox ANBU sighed as she summoned a few large foxes, one to carry Naruto, and then sent the others to get the people that had gone after Sasuke. As Tsuki started walking, other thoughts entered her mind.

'_Sasuke will have to be assassinated, he's a traitor and a missing-nin now. How is the village going to react to that? No doubt they will want their precious Uchiha back, and they will probably want Naruto dead for letting him get away. Stupid prejudiced humans, just because he has a demon sealed inside him, they think he wants to murder them all.' _

Tsuki shook her head slightly and looked up in time to see one of the summoned foxes coming toward her. The fox was carrying an unconscious Akamaru and a semi-conscious Kiba.

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Kiba had killed Sakon and Ukon, but just barely survived it. He fully expected to die from blood loss but he was still alive_. 'What's happening?'_ he thought_. 'Something is carrying me. Whatever it is…it smells familiar. It smells really familiar…like a fox. But…I only know two people that smell like a fox...Naruto…and Saphire. Wait…did Saphire come after me? Oh no, she probably thinks that I'm dead!'_

In fact, Tsuki knew Kiba was alive because of their bond as mates. The bonding ceremony had been done shortly before the chuunin exams by Kiba's mother, Inuzuka Tsume. Not only did they have the Inuzuka pack bond, they also had a rather more potent demonic bond thanks to Saphire. And all she had to do was bite him and infuse the wound with chakra. Hehe, she couldn't help but grin at that particular memory. Rather, the _side effects_ of the bite.

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Kiba could smell the slight arousal coming from Tsuki. As her mate, he was rather sensitive to that particular scent. It usually meant some fun was in store for him.

"Saphire…how are the others?" He asked from his place on the large fox that was still carrying him.

Almost immediately, Tsuki spun around with wide eyes. She had no idea that he was conscious.

"Kiba! I didn't think you would be conscious for a while." Tsuki walked over to where the large fox had Kiba on its back. "How are you feeling? I healed the major wound you had in your abdomen and I put a cast of Akamaru's leg."

Kiba was surprised he was even alive and he only noticed a dull throb in his arms and legs. He wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about Akamaru and the others who had gone after Sasuke. He was about to say as much when another thought entered his mind.

"Saphire, why are you in your ANBU uniform?" Kiba asked.

Tsuki sighed. "I finished my mission early. As soon as I got back to the village, Hinata found me and ordered me to bring Naruto back safe. Then Tenten, Ino, and Sakura found me. Every one of them told me what had happened so of course I came running after all of you."

By now, Neji and Chouji had been found as well. Saphire told the foxes to stop walking so she could check everyone's injuries. While she didn't know the names of every muscle, nerve and bone she knew when something was out of place and where it needed to be. And since she had extra chakra to spare, she made a decent emergency med-nin. She stopped Neji's bleeding, gave him a blood restoration pill, and then continued on to check Chouji. Chouji just had a couple broken fingers and a lot of bruises.

'_What did Chouji do? He's almost dead from chakra exhaustion.'_ Saphire thought to herself as she checked them. By the time she was done Lee had been found as well, surprisingly accompanied by Sabaku no Gaara.

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Gaara had no idea who the ANBU tending to the Konoha-nin was and he was slightly alarmed when she waved at him. And then she noticed how bad Lee looked.

"Lee what are you doing out here! You were still supposed to be in the hospital!" the ANBU almost yelled when she saw Lee. She immediately moved towards Gaara and Lee and found her way blocked by a wall of sand. Gaara had no idea who this person was and for all he knew she could be working with the Sound-nin that had taken Sasuke.

At this time, the other two Suna siblings had arrived. They were mildly surprised by what they saw.

The fox ANBU turned around at the sound of their arrival and gave them a small wave. Then she turned towards the ball of sand that hid Lee and Gaara from view.

"Gaara what do you think you are doing? Lee needs to be treated for his injuries before they become any more severe!"

Saphire could hear Lee say something to Gaara inside the ball of sand. The ball of sand dispersed and returned to Gaara's gourd.

"ANBU-san, remove your mask. I will not let my…friends be treated by someone I neither recognize nor know." Gaara said before Saphire could do anything.

Saphire, or rather _Tsuki_, couldn't help but grin beneath her mask. So Sabaku no Gaara couldn't recognize her chakra hmm? Well, she would just have to mess with him a bit. No doubt, Shikamaru knew who it was underneath the mask, but he seemed to be the only one. The only ones currently awake were Temari, Kankuro, Lee, Shikamaru, and Gaara. And of those people, Shikamaru was the only one who knew about Tsuki the Fox ANBU and Saphire the genin being the same.

"Gaara-san, I apologize. I should have introduced myself. However, I'm rather hurt you didn't recognize me on your own. Surely your siblings recognized me?" Tsuki turned toward Kankuro and Temari to see if they recognized her or not, and neither one of them said anything. "You don't recognize me?" She sighed. "I was hoping you would, but of course I'll remove my mask."

Tsuki grinned to herself as she reached up for her mask. She could see Gaara's sand rustle in case she reached for her sword.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly when she removed her mask and cloak in a dramatic_ swoosh_. Temari and Kankuro almost fell out of the tree they were standing in.

"How..?" was all Temari managed to say. Even though it was obvious to the Sand Siblings who the ANBU was, it made no sense. As far as they knew, Saphire was fourteen years old, and a genin. The girl - or rather _woman - _standing in front of them looked like she was about 16 or 17 years old, had the hardened muscles of an experienced ninja, but the sleek and curvy body of a, well a young Tsunade. She also had the same mask as Hatake Kakashi minus the headband over her eye. In short, they were looking at a 16-year-old version of Saphire.

Temari was the first to recover her voice. "How the hell are you ANBU? Last time I checked you only had enough experience to be a genin. And I know for a fact you're not the same age as me."

Tsuki grinned. "This is just my disguise so the other ninjas don't know how strong I am. It keeps the other ANBU from thinking of me as a kid too. I was just on a mission so I was still in uniform." Saphire turned to Gaara. "Can I take a look at Lee now? I still need to check his injuries."

Lee tried to walk forward, but he was stopped by the fox that had been sent after him. Saphire told Gaara to help Lee lay down so she could check him and so he could rest.

After Saphire checked Lee's injuries and used a jutsu to make him sleep she, and the others that were awake and uninjured, continued heading towards Konoha at a walking pace. They couldn't move any faster without risking the Konoha nin's injuries getting worse.

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It was only a few hours later, not long after the sun had set when:

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Naruto suddenly woke up screaming and thrashing around. Immediately, Saphire was at his side trying to hold him still before he hurt himself or someone else. Everyone but Saphire, Gaara, and Temari was asleep.

Saphire was worried. "Naruto, what's wrong? What happened?" She asked, but Naruto didn't hear her. He was mumbling in a panicked voice "Sakura-chan no! Stop, it wasn't my fault. I'll bring him back. Kakashi sensei we almost died. I can still bring him back. Please give me another chance…" Naruto's mumbling faded and now he was just staring into space.

It was a few minutes before Naruto noticed Saphire. "Nee-chan…I failed. I promised Sakura-chan that I would bring Sasuke back. I promised Kakashi-sensei too. And I failed. Sasuke got away and the villagers are going to hate me even more! Sakura is gonna kill me when she finds out I let her precious Sasuke get away! The whole village has always hated me and most wanted me dead and now they will all want me dead even more!" Naruto's voice had risen into a shout, but now he just sat next to Saphire, shaking and with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Saphire sighed. "Naruto you didn't fail. You promised you would bring back Sasuke. You never said you would bring him back today or tomorrow. And I'm pretty sure Sakura and Kakashi will be more worried about every one's injuries when you get back. As for the villagers…if they try anything they can be charged with treason. And guess who gets to deal with traitors."Saphire gave Naruto a small smile, "ANBU are in charge of tracking down traitors, Naruto. If any of the villagers try to hurt you I will take them out myself. Besides, if the villagers try anything at all you have the support of the major clans of Konoha."

At this point, Gaara felt he had to say something. "Naruto, you will also have the support of my siblings and I. The entire Sand village is grateful to you because, without your help, I would still be…psychotic. Also, if they attack you they are, by extension, attacking Saphire. And Saphire is technically still a kunoichi of Sunagakure."

Naruto looked at Gaara for a second before saying quietly "Thanks, Gaara."

Temari didn't want to be left out. "Besides, gaki, if it gets too bad you can get a mission that brings you to Suna. I'm sure your Hokage would find some reason to give you a mission that gets you out of Konoha."

Saphire smiled. "Yeah, I could request a training mission for you. Kami-sama knows you need help with genjutsu. Since I'm ANBU I would be allowed to take you outside of the village."

Naruto had a smile on his face now. "Thanks. I shouldn't have broken down like that just because of some stupid nightmare. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

At this point Naruto yawned, gave his nee-chan a hug, and then walked over to his sleeping bag. He was out in seconds.

Temari had a slightly worried look on her face. "Did he just say what I think he said?" she asked.

Saphire sighed. "Yes he did. Obviously no one ever told him that some superstitions are very much true. He just jinxed us all."

'_And,'_ Saphire thought, _'somehow I think his nightmare was more than a mere dream.'_

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Author's Note

Woo! I finally finished the first chapter of Betrayal and Redemption! As I have done in the two chapters of my other story, I like to have a little interactive bit in the Authors' note. This time, if someone can guess why Naruto saying "What's the worst that can happen?" is a bad thing you get to….design a side mission! Yes, I will let someone design a side mission for one of the characters and I will work it into the story. Or, I might let you pick who and how Sasuke dies. Or if he dies. Please leave a review! It's easy and you don't need an account!


	2. Return

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the character of Saphire Tsukikage (and her ANBU counterpart, Tsuki) and her jutsus belong to me. The Fang of the Moon (Tsuki no Kiba/ Kibatsuki) also belongs to me. All song lyrics used belong to their respective artist.

This story is rated M for language (a lot of it), violence, and some sexual themes (like innuendos and suggestive things).

MoonShadow Productions Presents

**Betrayal and Redemption**

A Naruto FanFiction

By: Saphire Tsukikage

Chapter 2 Return

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Naruto was woken up by a loud barking. Before he could think, the flap of the tent he was in flew open. He suddenly found himself outside the tent, on the ground, with a large grey wolf in front of him.

"Rayne!" he yelled. "What's going on?" Naruto couldn't see past the wolf guarding him. He could, however, hear everything.

Before he could get up, Rayne turned around, picked him up by his shirt, and threw him on her back. "You have to get out of here and back to the village. One of the Sound-nin came back early this morning to try and finish what they started, but they got caught by a fox." Rayne quickly explained as she started running.

Naruto tried to jump off Rayne's back but he was stopped by her tail. Rayne growled at him.

"You are not going back to fight, Naruto. Saphire and Kiba have it covered. You, and everyone else, are being taken somewhere out of the way and safe."

Naruto ducked his head as a branch flew by, nearly giving him a haircut. Naruto hadn't noticed how fast Rayne was moving, but now that he did he paled slightly. She was running faster than any ninja, except Lee maybe. He could hear the sounds of running on either side of him. Looking around, he saw Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, and Chouji on two large foxes that were running alongside Rayne with only a few trees separating them.

'_Nee-chan, stay safe.' _Naruto thought as his thoughts turned back the fight he was running - no, being dragged - from.

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Kiba growled as he dodged another kunai. Even after the fight of the previous day, Sakon and Ukon were still a formidable duo. Kiba smirked as he thought _'They might be a formidable duo, but Saphire and I are more dangerous than they could ever imagine.'_

Elsewhere, Saphire was thinking up ways to end the battle quickly and hopefully kill Sakon and Ukon in the process. Genjutsu was out of the question, she could either catch one person or catch all three people in the clearing. Taijutsu could only go so far against multiple opponents. _'So,' _she thought with a smirk, _'I guess ninjutsu wins. But, should we do flashy and scare them, or subtle but just as deadly…' _

Before she could decide, Sakon said something that decided for her.

"What do you idiot genin think you're doing? One of you is just a stupid mutt, and the other the stupid mutt's bitch! You've got no chance against us, we're practically demons! We…!"

Before Sakon could continue, he was interrupted by laughter from Kiba and Saphire.

"What the hell are you brats laughing at?" Ukon yelled. The stupid little genin should be cowering in fear, but instead they were laughing!

Saphire couldn't keep the sadistic grin off her face, and neither could Kiba.

"Who said we were genins?" Kiba asked, grinning. _'They screwed themselves calling her a bitch'_

'_Never call a vixen a bitch, and never call my mate a mutt' _Saphire thought sadistically.

"You two claim to be demons…let's see how you fair against a **true demon**!" Saphire said as she started to drop her henge. With bursts of blue fire, she grew a tail, two ears, and her nails and canines lengthened.

Kiba grinned as he watched his mate show her half demon form. He could feel her youki, her demonic chakra, flare as she focused a small amount of killing intent. As she changed, her elemental affinities - fire and wind - swirled around her, along with her blue, black, and silver chakra.

Sakon and Ukon felt the killing intent, and they both had the same thought.

'_Let's get out of here! '_And they both tried to run.

Only, they ran right into Akamaru…and he was _mad_…and he had gotten a hold of the soldier pills. Sakon and Ukon were so screwed it wasn't even funny…well not to them at least. Saphire and Kiba thought it was just hilarious, and the demonic and sadistic laughter wasn't helping the Sound-nin at all.

Akamaru remembered Sakon and Ukon as the ninja that had hurt him, his partner, and tried to hurt his partner's mate. He wanted to deliver the final blow, and he told Kiba and Saphire as much.

Saphire raised her eyebrows, as did Kiba, when Akamaru growled in their direction.

"You want to be the one to end it, Akamaru?" Saphire asked.

Kiba's eyes widened when he heard that. Akamaru _wanted_ to kill them? This was the first time in his memory that someone had made Akamaru mad enough to kill, and he found it slightly disturbing. But he was curious. He grinned.

"Alright Akamaru, you can be the one to end it." He said.

Akamaru was about to lunge, but Saphire stopped him.

"But we get to help." She added with toothy, or rather, fanged, grin.

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"Brat, sit down!" Temari yelled when she finally lost her patience…and it didn't take long.

Ever since Rayne, and the two foxes following her, had stopped and let the tired nin rest, Naruto had been pacing back and forth.

Naruto whirled towards Temari with a vicious snarl.

"How can you just sit there? They could be dead for all we know! We need to go back and help them! What if…!"

He was cut off by a burst of laughter. Every one whirled around towards the source of the laughter.

Saphire grinned as she and a laughing Kiba walked into the clearing.

"Naruto, how could you? You know Kiba and I can't be beat when we do our combo attacks." Saphire said as she pretended to look hurt.

Naruto just stood there with his mouth hanging open. He finally registered the fact that Saphire and Kiba were standing infront of him. He promptly glomped Saphire, knocking her to the ground with his enthusiastic hug. What he failed to notice, however, Temari did.

"Saphire, why the hell do you have a tail?! What are you?!" She screeched, alarmed by the change in Saphire's appearance.

Silence fell over the camp as Kiba, Naruto, and Saphire realized what Temari had said.

Saphire looked up, her eyes flashing. "Temari, you know what Naruto carries, don't you?"

"Yeah", Temari answered, "He's the jinchuriki for the Kyuubi. What does that have to do with anything?"

Saphire gave a small smile at that question. "It has everything to do with it. The Kyuubi was forcefully brought to earth by a prideful Uchiha, and the jutsu that brought him here also made him crazy and very vengeful. The Uchiha that brought him here didn't realize, however, that bringing the Kyuubi here also drew his sister here."

Temari was simply getting annoyed now. "How does any of that answer my question?"

Saphire laughed. "You still don't get it? Let me put it plain and clear. I am the Kyuubi's sister. I am the nine-tailed moonlit shadow fox. Simply put, I am a demon."

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Author's Note

Yes I know, shorter chapter. But, it felt like I should cut it off there. Yes Saphire is the Kyuubi's sister in this story. I'm not even sure what difference that will make and I'm the one writing the story. But it will make a difference. Btw, for anyone wondering, the ANBU Tsuki in this story IS NOT the same as the ANBU in the other story. I just like using Tsuki because it means moon.


	3. The UnWelcoming Party

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the character of Saphire Tsukikage (and her ANBU counterpart, Tsuki) and her jutsus belong to me. The Fang of the Moon (Tsuki no Kiba/ Kibatsuki) also belongs to me. All song lyrics used belong to their respective artist.

This story is rated M for language (a lot of it), violence, and some sexual themes (like innuendos and suggestive things)…oh and for this story, rated for Inner Sakura.

MoonShadow Productions Presents

**Betrayal and Redemption**

A Naruto FanFiction

By: Saphire Tsukikage

Betrayal and Redemption Chapter 3: The Un-Welcoming Party

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Silence had reined after Saphire's statement that morning. While Kiba, Naruto, and Gaara didn't care, everyone else was deep in thought.

'Saphire was always a nice person, so it doesn't really matter if she's not…human. I wonder why does she always smell like peaches…?'

'She's way more troublesome than most women, but she's loyal to her friends. She's good at mind games and strategy too…'

'A demon she might be, but she saved my life. She's protective of Hinata-sama too…'

'All that time she spent with us in Suna, and she's not even human! She's never caused any trouble though…besides helping Kankuro with his pranks. She did help me with a few of my wind jutsus…'

'Yosh! It doesn't matter if Saphire-chan is human or not! She's a dedicated kunoichi and she's loyal to Konoha!'

'Heh, so what if she's not human. She's one hell of a fighter and she's good at pranks. Not to mention she's the only one that could ever hold her own in a fight with Gaara…and he never threatened to kill her…wait a sec, I wonder why?'

"Hey Gaara!" Kankuro said to get Gaara's attention.

"What is it, Kankuro?" Gaara asked without pausing or looking back.

"Why did you never try to kill Saphire? You never even threatened her…"

SMACK!

The suddenness of the question caught several people off guard, and had caused Naruto to slip and hit the branch below him. Everyone else stopped as well.

Saphire's eye twitched and she was fighting back a grin.

"Why don't we stop to eat lunch? I'm sure everyone wants to hear the answer to _that_ question." Saphire suggested, jumping to the ground with everyone else.

Of course, Chouji cheered at the idea of lunch.

As everyone stopped and Naruto started pulling out cups of ramen, the ninjas all looked at Saphire, waiting for her to start her story.

"Gaara did actually try to kill me once, when I first moved to Suna. Though, it was probably Shukaku's fault more than Gaara's, since Shukaku absolutely hates me." Saphire started.

"Why does Shukaku hate you? " Shikamaru asked. "Did you do something to it before it was sealed?"

Saphire grinned. "Actually, I did. Before Shukaku was sealed, he was…a ladies' man. I'm pretty sure he hates me because I was the only one who ever turned him down."

Everyone had a shocked WTF face, and then, all at once, there was a cry of "What?!"

Except for Gaara of course, he was just staring at Saphire with slightly widened eyes. Then, he suddenly gave a cry of pain, and clutched his head.

"What's wrong?!" several people asked at the same time.

"It's…Shukaku…he's…he's trying…to take over…argh!" Gaara answered, followed by another cry of pain.

"Let me talk to Shukaku." Saphire said. "Just hold still, if you can, and I can enter your mind, kind of like Ino does."

Before anyone could respond, Saphire did a series of hand signs.

"Shadow Style: Mind Release!" A streak of black smoke shot from Saphire's fingertips to Gaara's forehead.

Gaara gasped, and then slumped over, unconscious.

Saphire, however, stayed sitting upright, but she had a blank look in her eyes.

"Everyone relax," she said, "I'm fine and so is Gaara, if you hear Gaara talking, it's just Shukaku, and you'll probably hear me asking him questions too, I can't control whether I'm thinking out loud or not. I know you can hear me now though, but that's only because I'm trying to think out loud. Just…relax. We should be done in a few minutes."

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Author's Note: Saphire is inside Gaara's mind the same way that Naruto sometimes enters his own mind to talk to the Kyuubi. Saphire was explaining that she and Shukaku might be thinking out loud at some points, to where the ninjas might here the conversation.

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-In Gaara's Mind-

Saphire found herself in a dark room, lit only by a dim yellow light that seemed to be coming from a gate in front of her. The giant gate looked rusted, and some bars of the door had entirely broken. There was a seal on the gate but it looked…smudged. Saphire took a step forward…and the flood was unleashed.

It was only her own demonic chakra that kept Saphire from being knocked down. Saphire grinned as she gathered her own chakra and forced the yellow chakra back and behind the gate. Since she was in someone else's mind, and she wasn't using a genjutsu on said person, Saphire was in her more…demonic form.

"Shukaku! You might as well save your energy. I'm not letting you take over Gaara!" Saphire yelled into the darkness. With her fangs, ears, tails, claws, and toned body, she made an impressive picture. However, it had no effect on the demon lurking behind the gates.

The giant demonic tanuki slammed into the bars with a roar.

"**What are you doing here?! Who are you?!"**

Obviously, Shukaku didn't recognize her. Saphire grinned.

"Oh, what's wrong Shukaku? You can't recognize your favorite vixen?" she asked, not bothering ot fight back the slightly sadistic grin.

Shukaku growled, and, with a flash of yellow chakra, took a human form.

"What was that, brat?" Shukaku asked. His human form was a tall, but thin, handsome man. He looked like he was about 20. With his black hair and yellow eyes, he retained a demonic appearance, not to mention the claws, ears, and tail.

Saphire chuckled, and fully released her chakra, allowing it to clash with the yellow chakra, and allowing her to return to her 17-year old appearance.

"Last time we talked in person, you seemed to think I was anything but a brat. If I remember correctly, you thought I was irresistible." Saphire replied.

"Hmm, you do look familiar." It was then that Shukaku caught sight of the nine white-with-blue-tip tails waving gently behind her. His eyes narrowed, and he growled when Saphire started laughing.

"If I didn't know better, I'd call you a stalker." He said.

Saphire laughed again. "That was always your title, Shukaku. I'm just here to stop you from causing so much trouble for your container."

Shukaku snorted. "I'm not causing trouble…I'm just trying to get the hell out of this body. I guess you managed to avoid getting sealed like your brother?"

Saphire smirked. "Yeah I managed to not get sealed. I'm just here to warn you Shukaku, either work with your container and stop trying to drive him crazy, or I fix the seal and you'll be forced to merge with Gaara."

Shukaku glared at her. "There's a third option isn't there? I know you always come up with more than a few possibilities."

Saphire smirked.

"Yeah, there's a third option. Behave, and let Gaara sleep, and I might just find a way of giving you your own body."

Shukaku's eyes widened. "Yeah right, you can't give me my own body back."

Saphire smirked. "Oh, but I can. All I'd have to do is fix the seal a certain way, wait a month, and then undo the seal. You could have your own body back, with all your chakra."

"Hmm…ok. Let's try that option. I'll let the cub sleep, and I'll stop trying to tear my way out, and you give me back my own body."

Saphire smirked. "I thought you would go with that option, you always did prefer option number three. But, remember, if you don't let Gaara sleep, and you keep causing problems, I will fix the seal, and force you to merge with Gaara. And now, it's time for you both to sleep." As Saphire left Gaara's mind, Gaara fell into a dreamless sleep for the first time in his life.

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When Saphire returned to her body, it was just in time to see Gaara fall over, asleep. Of course, Temari and Kankuro were staring.

After lunch, everyone started jumping through the trees on the way to the village. Saphire had sent Isis ahead with a message for Tsunade to let her know that everyone was alive and that Sasuke had gotten away. Unfortunately…

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Sakura ran towards the Hokage tower as soon as she saw the arctic falcon flying towards it. She recognized the bird as Saphire's, and was praying that it had news of Sasuke's retrieval. On the other side of the village, Kakashi saw the bird, and he too started heading towards the Hokage tower.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said as soon as she entered the Fifth Hokage's office. "The messenger bird, is it from the retrieval group?

Tsunade looked up from the small blue scroll that the falcon had delivered. She gave a sad smile that instantly put Sakura on edge. "Well, no one died except a few sound-nins, thanks to Saphire. Unfortunately, the retrieval itself was a failure."

"Naruto let Sasuke get away? But...he promised! He swore he would bring Sasuke-kun back, even if it killed him! He broke his promise!"

Sakura, with tears of pain and anger in her eyes, turned around and ran down the stairs, towards the entrance to the village, where the group of tired ninjas had just arrived. She ran out the door just as Kakashi arrived, and Kakashi could see by her face that something had gone wrong. And almost everything was about to go wrong for Naruto.

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When the tired nin finally reached the gates of the village, they were surprised to see a few people already there. Ino ran to Shikamaru and Chouji, glad to see them alive. Tenten ran to Neji, while scolding Rock Lee for sneaking out of the hospital. Hinata ran up to Saphire, Naruto and Kiba, and blushed when Naruto gave her a hug. But, even as he gave Hinata a hug, Naruto's eyes looked around for the two people he most expected to see. After Hinata started checking everyone's wounds, Naruto slipped away unnoticed towards Sakura and Kakashi. His only warning was a single forced smile, before Sakura was upon him.

"You idiot! You let Sasuke-kun get away!! You broke your promise!" As she caught Naruto off guard, Sakura punctuated every word with a punch. Saphire started toward them, but not before the damage was done.

"You're a demon just like everyone says!" With that, Sakura threw him back with a punch, only for him to be caught by Saphire and Kiba.

Naruto looked up through blurring vision, waiting for Kakashi to do something.

Kakashi glared at him. "You're no student of mine, Naruto. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who leave their teammates behind are worse than trash."

With those words, Naruto could feel his heart fracturing, breaking. The only thing that kept it from shattering apart was the presence of his closest friends, and Hinata standing next to him. Hurt beyond description, exhausted emotionally and physically, Naruto's vision faded to black.

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**Author's Note**

Wow that was…depressing. But it had to be. And yay plot development! I think this might be a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to get the story updated. Hopefully there isn't any damage from me not working on this for months. I will be updating more though. I have outlines and plans, I even have an uber awesome epic ending scene for my other story, but that scene wont show up for awhile. Lets just say it involves a Hyuuga, Kiba, Saphire, and the song My Last Breath. One again, PLEASE REVIEW! If I don't get reviews then I feel like no one cares if I update. Also, I will be updating my other story soon, probably within a week. Also, I will have things on as well. REVIEW!!!! and this layout looks alot better when there are margins...


	4. Balance Release

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; the character of Saphire Tsukikage (and her ANBU counterpart, Tsuki) and her jutsus belong to me. The Fang of the Moon (Tsuki no Kiba/ Kibatsuki) also belongs to me. All song lyrics used belong to their respective artist.

This story is rated M for language (a lot of it), violence, and some sexual themes (like innuendos and suggestive things)…oh and for this story, rated for Inner Sakura.

MoonShadow Productions Presents

**Betrayal and Redemption**

A Naruto FanFiction

By: Saphire Tsukikage

Betrayal and Redemption Chapter 4: Balance Release

Previously: Naruto failed to rescue Sasuke, Saphire escorted everyone back to Konoha, and the majority of the village has turned their back on Naruto, except for Tsunade and the other rookie teams. This chapter is the night of Naruto's return, after everything has gone wrong.

Note: Kinkou Kai means Balance Release. Chihana means blood flower.

"Kinkou Kai no jutsu…" someone said, nothing more than a whisper in the night…

Haruno Sakura was completely unaware of the person standing on her balcony. The person's hair glowed silver in the moonlight, and her eyes glowed as she looked upon her prey. With one hand, she opened the door, and with the other she reached up to remover her mask…Sakura's dreams were about to become nightmares, as would her reality.

-Sakura's Dream-

"SASUKE!" she yelled as she ran. He stopped and turned towards her, a puzzled look on his face. "Sakura, why are you following me?" he asked. Sakura was panting slightly once she caught up to the dark teen. "I followed you…to keep you…from leaving without me!" she answered. Sasuke turned towards her, his face blank. "Since you're so determined, you can come with me…but remember, you will be branded as a missing-nin for following me" he said. Sakura answered, "I don't care! As long as I get to stay with you…we can become stronger together and I can help you hunt down your brother!" Silence followed her outburst until Sasuke said "Fine. You can come with me. You can help me avenge my family. However, don't depend on me to keep you safe."

Just as they left the gates, the wind kicked up, sending dust and leaves flying through the air, and revealing the moon. To Sakura's horror, Sasuke disappeared when the moonlight touched him, only to be replaced by an explosion of chakra. Suddenly, Sakura found her self facing two demons, one bright red and black, the other dark blue and silver. Both were kitsunes, identical to each other except for the colors. The demons were on either side of her, growling and snarling. The demonic chakra threatened to send her into oblivion but she saw someone standing between the two beasts…it was Sasuke!

Sasuke walked forward, seemingly unaffected by the poisonous chakra. Sakura could feel her cheeks blush as Sasuke leaned towards her… "Sakura," he said, trapping her against the wall. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?" she said, breathless due to their closeness.

"**I lied**"

Sakura felt a stabbing pain tear through her body, and Sasuke began to change before her eyes. He erupted into a tower of scarlet chakra, a human shape discernable within. All she heard before the darkness took her was a haunting melodic song, a chorus of two voices, chanting a song that felt as ancient as the earth and moon.

Through the music, a voice sang, screamed, yelled out.

"**You deny who you are, you fight yourself, and you keep me locked away. You have denied your blood and your heritage, and in doing so; you will lose your most valuable weapon! We are the same no more, for I will not be kept hidden. I am everything you refuse, everything you fight. Your intuition, your strength, the ancient knowledge passed down from the kunoichi of your family, I am your very soul. But, I am yours no longer. I am FREE!" **

As she woke, Sakura felt like something was tearing her apart, tearing its self free of her, there was a dark scarlet chakra rolling off of her, burning her skin and tearing away. The scarlet chakra converged and she saw a dark figure emerge at the foot of her bed…

Inner Sakura, Chihana, the blood-born flower, was finally free.

-  
A scream pierced the night, a long sorrowful note born of pain, terror and loss.

Meanwhile, a blonde was fighting with his inner demon.

"**This village has always hated you! Why do you continue to defend the pathetic humans? The only ones worth defending are the genin of your generation, they alone have not ostracized you because of me. Humans are pathetic!"**

'I'm not pathetic!' Naruto mentally screamed at the demon.

"**You aren't HUMAN!" **the Kyuubi yelled back.

Naruto gasped as the demon answered, for he knew it was true. He was not human. But, he told himself, he wasn't a demon either.

And he knew someone else that was just like him…

Naruto stood up, stretching as he did. 'Better be quiet; don't want to wake anyone up….' He thought as he moved around his room. 'On second thought…..'

Saphire jolted upright as an explosion rocked the village. As she threw off her covers and grabbed her weapons, she could hear Kiba running around in the room across from hers. Akamaru barked something just as she opened the door and dashed into the hallway, Kiba's sister and mother doing the same, with Kiba following an instant later.

"That sounded like it was near Naruto's apartment!" Saphire yelled as she and Kiba dashed down the hallway and out of the house. Both pulled up short when they reached the streets and realized that the explosion hadn't been _near _Naruto's apartment…

Naruto's apartment had been the source of the explosion, and it was now a tower of flames.

Both Kiba and Saphire were thinking the same thing…

"FUCK!" both ninja shouted as they ran towards the apartments and the quickly spreading fire.

Elsewhere, other ninja were running towards the fire, especially the remainder of the rookie nine and team Gai who were worried about their friend.

Just as Naruto had reached out to open his door, an explosion rocked the building. Seconds later, everything around Naruto exploded into heat, light, and pain. He had the sensation of falling, and then…everything went black.

As Saphire, Kiba, Hinata and the others arrived; ninja were using water jutsus to try to control the fire.

"Stay back! Everyone's been evacuated already!" yelled a nearby ANBU.

"Where are the survivors?" Hinata asked a passing ANBU. "There weren't any." was the ANBU's quick and devastating reply.

"Relax, Hinata. It takes more than an explosion to take out Naruto. He must be here somewhere….." Saphire replied. The moment the words left her mouth, the rookies split up to look for their comrade.

After nearly half an hour's search through the rubble, it was Shino who found Naruto, using his kikai bugs.

"EVERYONE, OVER HERE!"

The genin ran towards the source of Shino's yell, worried about what he might have found.

There was a multitude of gasps and a few small screams when the genin saw the condition that Naruto was in.

Saphire fell to her knees next to Naruto's body. He was barely alive, and Hinata and Ino quickly joined her to help keep him that way. Even as they healed his injuries and set his broken limbs and neck, the Kyuubi was working from the inside to stabilize him.

Half an hour later, around midnight, Naruto was finally stabilized, albeit still unconscious. The rookies had been ordered to go home by Tsunade. Unknown to Tsunade, Saphire had stayed to watch over Naruto. She had a feeling that whoever had caused the explosion would come back to try and finish the job.

'Stupid demon brat, that blast should have killed him. But of course, Tsunade-sama won't see sense and let him die. I'll just have to finish him off while he's unguarded at the hospital.' A silver haired chuunin thought to himself. Mizuki looked the worse for wear, having been in prison. He was wearing nothing but a tattered pair of cotton pants, his hair had grown to his shoulders, and he had nearly a week's worth of stubble on his cheeks.

Mizuki was a jonin with a grudge against Naruto. He honestly believed that Naruto was the Kyuubi disguised as a human, and he wanted the demon dead. Little did he know, the demon wanted _him _dead as well. Mizuki had earned the kitsune's wrath.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I know this took forever, and I'm sorry for that. I know its also extremely short buti wanted to get this out so my head is clear for the next series of events. The twists and turns ahead are well worth it and I will be working on this more now that things have calmed down. I've had to deal with summer school, driving lessons, wasp infestations, and a jackass of a dad. My writer's block is gone and my musical muse is singing her head off. As for my other story, chapter five should be out in about another month, but might take longer due to having more ideas for this story. Once school starts again updates will be minimal but I will be writing more this year, since it is senior year and I have a 4.0 gpa for the first time since….since before school started. XD hoping everyone has a safe summer! PS: sakura will suffer more. and i just realized after uploading that all my stories are gonna be a little more confusing due to the removal of dashes. WHY WHY?


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